Point of View

The novel Disoriental uses different interlocking points of view to create the effect of a storyteller who has made the reader her captive audience. Though the novel is generally told in the first person, it uses strategic references to the second person to transform the reader into a listener not only engaged but implicated in the story. In general, the novel’s use of the first-person means that the reader experiences the narrated events, including but not limited to the Iranian Revolution and Khomeini’s return to Iran, from the limited perspective of Kimiâ herself. It is through Kimiâ’s eyes that the reader also sees Iranian culture and society more generally. This is significant in part because Kimiâ’s sexuality makes her a more critical responder to Iranian culture. Instead of accepting the closedness and narrow-mindedness of Iranian culture, like Kimiâ’s uncle Saddeq...